Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

The night is like water.

The alley was pitch black except for the house at the very back, which was lit by a fire and accompanied by the clanging and banging of hammers.

The tapping sound was quite rhythmic, and after listening to it for a while, it even sounded like a piece of music.

"Damn it, is Zhou Yuan made of iron? Doesn't he sleep at all?"

A suppressed, low voice rose from the darkness.

The three members of the Crimson Gold Gang were at the entrance of the alley, their eyes fixed on the only courtyard with light.

Poor families don't want to turn on the lights at night, so they definitely wouldn't mistake Zhou Yuan's house for theirs.

When they were feeling down, the sound of hammering almost never stopped all night.

"Damn it, the boss told us to wait until he falls asleep before using the sleeping potion to knock him out, but we've been watching him for days and he just won't sleep! If you ask me, we should just take action."

"Should we make the first move? Are you going to do it yourself or should we let the boss do it? Didn't you hear what the boss said? This Zhou Yuan is already a martial artist who has broken through to the Body Refining Realm twice. Even the boss couldn't beat him. That's why we need to use the sleeping incense."

Another gang member said, paused, and continued, "The new commander is making a big splash right now, it'll be hard to explain if he causes too much trouble. Keep a low profile, understand?"

"Shut up, all of you."

A third voice hissed, "If you weren't always asleep, this would have been done long ago!"

"It's not our fault."

The two gang members said, "Zhou Yuan only sleeps for a short while every day until the early hours of the morning. Who can stand that?"

"..."

"Damn it, no wonder he was able to break through the level twice. This is the first time I've ever seen someone work this hard!"

…………

laugh!

Zhou Yuan inserted an iron bar into the cold lard, and after a thick cloud of white smoke, he pulled the iron bar out.

He tapped the iron bar gently with a small hammer, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Quenching with lard is indeed much better than quenching with cold water."

He thought to himself.

"Cold water quenching has a fast cooling speed, but because the cooling is too rapid, it is too brittle. If it is high carbon steel, it will crack and chip on the spot."

"Quenching with animal fat results in a slightly lower hardness than water quenching, but significantly improved toughness."

However, quenching with grease can easily cause a fire and accidents, and—"

"expensive!"

Oil is very expensive, and most blacksmiths simply cannot afford it. Zhou Yuan hesitated for a long time before deciding to try using oil for quenching.

He has been trying to forge weapons these days, and he has ruined countless iron materials.

If he didn't have some savings now, he simply couldn't afford to waste money like this.

Fortunately, based on his experience watching the sword-forging competition in his previous life, he was able to figure out some of the tricks of the trade.

Take the quenching technique, for example. Ordinary blacksmiths only use water. Who would have thought they would use other liquids?

Even if they knew, it was a blacksmith's specialty, and they wouldn't easily tell others.

"A good weapon costs money at every step, from materials to craftsmanship to quenching. No wonder a good knife can sell for tens of taels of silver."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

These days he has tried every means to learn about weapons.

It was as if, after trying, he had finally forged his first complete longsword.

Looking at the decent-looking longsword in his hand, Zhou Yuan knew in his heart that it still couldn't be considered a real weapon for actual combat.

Swish!Swish!Swish!

He brandished his longsword a few times.

"The center of gravity of the blade is not positioned correctly."

He silently noted down the problems in his mind, preparing to continue improving them next time.

"The iron material used is also wrong. The iron material sent by the Crimson Gold Gang has too many impurities and cannot withstand repeated forging at all."

The temperature isn't high enough. You can use black charcoal to make farm tools, but for forging weapons, you need at least hardwood charcoal, and if you can use hot coals, that would be even better..."

The more Zhou Yuan reviewed the situation, the more he realized there were still many problems to overcome.

Without any mentorship, he had to try each step himself repeatedly.

The timing of the heat, the forging, and the quenching—these are all closely guarded secrets; a slight error can lead to a completely different outcome.

Even though Zhou Yuan had already mastered advanced blacksmithing techniques and was an excellent blacksmith, it wouldn't be easy for him to master weapon forging techniques without a teacher.

"It can only be considered an elongated kitchen knife now..."

Looking at the long sword in his hand, Zhou Yuan sighed.

With a thought, he brought up the system panel.

Name: Zhou Yuan

[Free Points: 20]

[Realm: Skin Tempering Realm]

【功法：白猿披风锤大成（20/3000），白猿通臂拳入门（280/300），断水刀法未入门（80/100）】

[Skill: Advanced Blacksmithing (10/300)]

After successfully breaking through the barrier a second time, Zhou Yuan slowed down the improvement of the White Ape Cloak Hammer and instead focused on improving the White Ape Tongbei Fist and the Water-Cutting Saber Technique.

He obtained the Water-Cutting Saber Technique from Duan Hui, the leader of the Broken Saber Gang.

This sword technique is no less powerful than the White Ape Tongbi Fist, so Zhou Yuan began to cultivate it as his trump card.

Because of his swordsmanship training, he has a deeper understanding of swords and is more focused when forging them.

A blacksmith who doesn't understand knives can't possibly forge a good knife.

"Improve your Water-Severing Blade Technique."

Zhou Yuan silently recited in his heart.

As an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart, Zhou Yuan's pupils seemed to see countless figures fluttering up and down.

Those figures wielded long swords and unleashed a series of moves from the Water-Severing Sword Technique.

At the same time, Zhou Yuan's memories of cultivation in Xudu appeared in his mind.

Holding the long sword, a feeling of complete control washed over me.

Swish!Swish!Swish!

A glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, and he couldn't help but brandish his knife.

All that could be seen was a white light that was so thick that water could not penetrate it, undulating and stretching out.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yuan had already performed a complete set of sword techniques from beginning to end, with smooth and unimpeded movements.

Some moves that were originally difficult to execute were now easily performed.

It was as if he had spent a year diligently practicing the Water-Cutting Knife Technique.

The White Ape Cloak Hammer is the skill, and the Tongbei Fist is the technique.

This water-cutting knife technique is also a method.

Skill is the essence, method is the application.

Many martial artists value skill more, not because techniques are unimportant.

However, the method is extremely difficult to practice, requiring not only comprehension but also time to hone one's skills.

Spending too much time on the Dharma can actually hinder the improvement of one's practice.

As far as Zhou Yuan knew, among the many disciples in the blacksmith shop who had broken through the first or second level of the martial arts, the White Ape Tongbei Fist was basically at the beginner or minor master level.

Although Zhou Yuan's White Ape Tongbei Fist is now at the entry level, he has mastered the Water-Cutting Saber Technique, which has increased his overall strength by more than 10%.

"I've mastered the basics of the Water-Cutting Blade Technique; there are some things I need to do."

A glint of light flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

He pulled out a set of black shorts and put them on, then tucked the "extra-long cleaver" he had made himself into his waistband.

Without opening the door, he leaped over the low earthen wall.

Zhou Yuan landed as lightly and silently as a raccoon dog and quickly ran out of the alley.

As soon as he turned the corner, he suddenly stopped, his gaze meeting that of three pairs of eyes.

Those three pairs of eyes, like Zhou Yuan's, were filled with astonishment and surprise.

"We've been exposed!"

Both of them thought to themselves at the same time.

Just as Zhou Yuan gripped the hilt of the knife, the three people opposite him raised their hands, and a cloud of grayish-white powder rushed towards him.